


a matter of principle

by oryx



Category: Suikoden Tierkreis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-22
Updated: 2012-01-22
Packaged: 2017-10-29 22:48:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/325032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oryx/pseuds/oryx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You know what they say about friends in high places...</p>
            </blockquote>





	a matter of principle

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 108 Days of Fanworks on LJ!

“Please describe the incident in detail, sir. Leave nothing out.”

 

The man adjusts his collar in a self-important manner, clearing his throat as he begins his tale. “Well, we had been hearing stories of a band of pirates for quite some time now. ‘Three orange-haired devils,’ they said, ‘who only loot the ships of corrupt merchants and unsavory criminals.’ I believed, upon hearing such rumors, that my honorable vessel would be safe from harm.” (His eyes dart around the room, refusing to meet her accusing stare. When _will_ people learn to lie? she asks herself. Honorable vessel, my foot.)

 

“But how wrong I was!” he exclaims. “We picked up a passenger in Kiluko – a Porpos-kin who called himself Naima. The tale he told was heartbreaking… He said that he had lost his best friend not long ago, and had traveled to Lonomakua to see the Coral Beaches, something his friend had always dreamed of. But his ship back to Naineneis had left without him, and it was much too far and dangerous to swim. He begged passage aboard our vessel, and, moved by his story, we allowed it, since we were headed in that direction ourselves.

 

“But that cunning little bastard… He was with them! The pirates! He led us directly into an ambush, where we were boarded by three orange-haired rapscallions who made off with every last piece of our merchandise! They even had the gall to suggest that our goods had been obtained through illicit means!” The man is quite red in the face at this point, and he bangs his fist against the table for emphasis.

 

“I see,” she says flatly, scribbling down a quick summary on the form. “Can you give me a list, or at least a partial list, of the stolen items?”

 

The man pales slightly, and she can almost see the rusty cogs of his mind turning as he tries to invent a brand new cargo.

 

“Well, it was mostly… cloth. Yes, cloth! From Salsabil. And also some jewelry from Lugenik. That sort of thing, you know.”

 

“Mm-hmm.” She resists the urge to roll her eyes. “Cloth and jewelry. Two of Lonomakua’s largest imports.”

 

The man nods eagerly. He just doesn’t know when to stop digging his own grave, does he? If he knew anything about trade outside of the Black Market, he’d know that Lonomakua makes most of its own cloth and jewelry, which is often sold to the Wanderers in a complex system of exports that this idiot could never hope to understand.

 

“Don’t worry, sir,” she says. “I offer you this personal guarantee: the criminals that robbed you will be brought to justice. Now if you’ll please excuse me – don’t want to keep my next appointment waiting, eh?”

 

The man bows his way out of the room, a satisfied, loathsome smile on his face. He thinks he’s won. Here is a person who is accustomed to having things go his way, all because of his money and influence. She feels dirty after speaking to him, as if his sliminess has rubbed off on her somehow.

 

Hina glances around. Other than her assistant, who is working his way through a veritable mountain of paperwork, there is no one else in the room. No one to see her commit a slight but very real crime.

 

She takes the incident report form and rips it in half, then tosses it into the trash.

 

“I’m headed out for a bit,” she tells her assistant, who nods absentmindedly, engrossed as he is in facts and figures.

 

She hadn’t lied about her next appointment, not really. Xebec was never one to be concerned with punctuality, but she hated to make anyone wait. Especially when she had such _amusing_ stories to tell…


End file.
